20 Second Timeout

20 Second Timeout is the place to find the best analysis and commentary about the NBA.

Thursday, December 06, 2012

Bryant Joins Erving and Jordan in Elite 30,000 Point Club

Kobe Bryant scored 29 points on Wednesday night as his L.A. Lakers defeated the New Orleans Hornets, 103-87; he became just the sixth member of pro basketball's 30,000 point club, joining Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Michael Jordan, Wilt Chamberlain and Julius Erving. Most media outlets will probably ignore Erving in this discussion but ABA Numbers Should Also Count and Erving was not only just the third player to cross the 30,000 point barrier but he was also the first "midsize" player to do so. Jordan and now Bryant are the only other "midsize" players on the list, which is a testament to the productivity, consistency and durability that Erving, Jordan and Bryant each displayed during their careers. It is disappointing--but not at all surprising--that ESPN "expert" Bill Simmons admitted that he did not even know which players were on this list (presumably referring to the NBA-only list; Simmons likely does not have a clue about the significance of Erving's ABA accomplishments and/or where Erving stands in pro basketball's Pantheon).

The 34 year old Bryant is the youngest player to score 30,000 points; if he averages at least 25 ppg (he currently leads the league in scoring with a 27.9 ppg average, including 31.2 ppg in his last five games) and does not retire when his current contract ends (after the 2013-14 season) then he will surpass Abdul-Jabbar's all-time record (38,387 points) early in the 2016-17 season. Bryant has the third highest career scoring average among the 30,000 point club members (25.4 ppg), trailing only Jordan and Chamberlain (30.1 ppg each, the highest regular season scoring average in pro basketball history--with Jordan holding on to top honors by .05 ppg).

In February 2011, Bryant became the eighth member of the 25,000/5000/5000 Club and now he is just the fifth player who has scored at least 30,000 points while also accumulating at least 5000 rebounds and at least 5000 assists (Abdul-Jabbar, Malone, Jordan and Erving are the others). Abdul-Jabbar, Malone and Erving are the only members of pro basketball's 30,000/10,000/5000 Club, a group that Bryant is several thousand rebounds short of joining.

Monday, December 03, 2012

Gasol and Howard Must Match Bryant's Aggressiveness

Kevin Ding, the best and most insightful writer on the L.A. Lakers' beat, explains a major reason why the Lakers have been a mediocre team this season: Dwight Howard and Pau Gasol, the team's twin towers, have not been aggressive enough at either end of the court. Ding notes that Howard's well documented free throw struggles largely stem from Howard's preoccupation with being booed, resulting in him "shrinking under that pressure of everyone's expectations." After the Lakers' 113-103 home loss to the Orlando Magic on Sunday, Kobe Bryant dismissed any excuses about Gasol's health and/or his role in the offense by emphatically stating that Gasol must "put your big-boy pants on" and have a bigger impact on the game. Throughout his career, Bryant has consistently challenged his teammates to be more aggressive and play with more fire--that was the real source of tension between him and the sometimes lackadaisical Shaquille O'Neal, not the soap opera nonsense propagated by most media members. O'Neal never trained or practiced as hard as Bryant but Phil Jackson's coaching and Bryant's drive brought out the best in O'Neal when the Lakers won three championships in four Finals appearances during the early 2000s. Ding questions whether Howard or Gasol can ever fully develop the fearless attitude that has propelled Bryant to so much success:

Well, Gasol is another player whose basic nature is to worry about
what everyone thinks of him. O'Neal too was deeply insecure, though he
tried to mask it with tenacity and force.

First O'Neal and then Gasol came to respect the quality a certain
teammate who just does not give a bleep about those who doubt him when
he trusts himself--a mindset that makes it much easier to excel.
Orlando coach Jacque Vaughn referred to Bryant as "an extreme winner"
before the game Sunday night--and then proceeded to carry out a game
plan to take the ball out of Bryant's hands late and gamble on hacking
Howard.

But did O'Neal and Gasol ever really learn to be like Bryant?

Could Gasol, splendid and skilled as he was in those title years with
Bryant, have been the lead dog on a title team during that time?
Hardly. And that brings us back to the question about Howard--with his
Shaq-like physical superiority...and mental insecurity.

This is supposed to be the season of shift from Kobe's team to Dwight's team.

In reality, it's far more about Dwight shifting to be more like Kobe.

Ding made similar observations regarding Gasol near the end of last season and Ding even suggested that the Lakers should trade Gasol in exchange for younger, hungrier and more athletic players.

About Me

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